Ask for the business
Be courageous, confident and bold in your dealings with potential clients. Don't be arrogant, but also don't be afraid of being rejected or failing. After you've given it "your all", you'll either get the assignment or you won't.
- Tell them you are most interested in their project and when you would be available to start. Reiterate how your skill set matches their requirements.
- Ask them how well you they think you meet their criteria for a consultant.
- Let them know you will develop a detailed proposal, timeline and cost estimate and tell them when they can expect to receive if from you. Make sure you get it to them by that time. If you can't deliver a proposal on time, it will call into question your ability to deliver the project on time.
- Thank them for their time. Clarify what the next steps will be. (e.g. your proposal delivery, potentially another meeting, timing of the start of the project, first steps of starting the project, etc.)
- Let them know the hourly rate you charge. By this point, you have done your homework and know the rate you need. Once you mention it, do not give the idea that the price is negotiable. If the client thinks it is too high, you will be able to tell. Offering to negotiate will weaken your power base. Let the client make the first move for a price change.
- Let them know you generally require a small commitment fee to get started (10-15% of the total project price.) Ask if they will be able to accommodate that. (You will want to know what their payment terms generally are, but after you are closer to getting the assignment. This should get addressed either in your proposal or in the contract.)
Do your best and then let go of the outcome. Trust the process. Don't waste your energy worrying about how things might turn out. Its better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Life is full of risk and uncertainty. The making of a true success is that they don't let fear of failure stop them. Its human to have fear, just don't let it keep you out of the game.
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